That was perhaps not surprising given that Claude Puel made ten changes to his starting lineup, but Arsenal also named a young and much-changed side - yet looked hungry from the off as Arsene Wenger watched from the stands.

Danny Welbeck's first start in 265 days saw the England striker show Gunners fans just what they have been missing during his lengthy layoff.

The mobile forward lead a dynamic Arsenal front-line and was rewarded for his enthusiastic running with two goals in seven minutes early on, before Theo Walcott put the game beyond doubt with just 35 minutes played and then added a fourth and a fifth to confirm his hat-trick.

Which of the goalscorers were our choice for Man of the Match and how did the other players at St Mary's stack up?

Read on for full player ratings...

Theo Walcott scored two on his first appearance in 2017 (Image: Rex Features)